Powersat: The Grand Tour Series

Two hundred thousand feet up, things go horribly wrong. An experimental low-orbit spaceplane breaks up on reentry, falling to earth over a trail hundreds of miles long. And in its wake is the beginning of the most important mission in the history of spaceflight.

The Precipice: Book One of The Asteroid Wars

Once, Dan Randolph was one of the richest men on Earth. Now the planet is spiraling into environmental disaster, with floods and earthquakes destroying the lives of millions. Martin Humphries, fabulously wealthy heir of the Humphries Trust, also knows that space-based industry is the way of the future. But unlike Randolph, he does not care if Earth perishes in the process.

Voyagers

Stoner knew. The fiery object hurtling toward the Earth was an alien spacecraft. But the world might never know. He was trapped in an iron cordon of secrecy, for the discovery had shattered the world power balance, setting off a brutal struggle for supremacy that raged from the sacred halls of the Vatican to the corridors of the Kremlin and the Pentagon. The forces of fear and treachery would use any weapon at their command, from mind war to sabotage, to keep the world in darkness.

New Earth: The Grand Tour, Book 18

We’ve found another Earthlike planet, but what secrets does it hold? The entire world is thrilled by the discovery of a new, Earthlike planet. Advance imaging shows that the planet has oceans of water and a breathable, oxygen-rich atmosphere. Eager to learn more, an exploration team is soon dispatched to explore the planet, now nicknamed New Earth.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.

Artifact

Deep in the Indian Ocean, Dr. Selene Khan enters an underwater dome thousands of years old, one that is fully operational. She barely escapes to the surface, only to discover that her research vessel has vanished. Can she make it to shore 100 miles away? On the other side of the world, Agent Jack Elliot uncovers an impossible 900 grams of antimatter. The trail leads him to Egypt, betrayal, and a sinister brainwashing facility. There, in a desperate move, he rescues Dr. Selene Khan.

A hero without peer or scruples, Sam Gunn has a nose for trouble, money, and women, though not necessarily in that order. A man with the ego (and stature) of a Napoleon, the business acumen of a P. T. Barnum, and the raging hormones of a teenage boy, Sam is the finest astronaut NASA ever trained and dumped. But more than money, more than women, Sam Gunn loves justice—and he really does love money and women.

Alice: Alice Series #1

Captain Jacob Thomas, USMC, is a divorced combat veteran just trying to get his life back on track. Returning to the marine corps after a failed attempt at reconciliation with his estranged wife, Jake volunteers for a DARPA experiment that catapults him into a future where humanity has been stripped of 200 years of technological advancements and more than half its population. With the help of a faceless benefactor named Alice, he escapes the confines of an abandoned lab facility.

Columbus Day: Expeditionary Force, Book 1

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.

Eon

Perhaps it wasn't from our time, perhaps it wasn't even from our universe, but the arrival of the 300-kilometer long stone was the answer to humanity's desperate plea to end the threat of nuclear war. Inside the deep recesses of the stone lies Thistledown: the remnants of a human society, versed in English, Russian and Chinese. The artifacts of this familiar people foretell a great Death caused by the ravages of war, but the government and scientists are unable to decide how to use this knowledge.

Solitude: Dimension Space, Book 1

Separated by the gulf of space, the last man and woman of the human race struggle against astronomical odds to survive and unite. Army Aviator Vaughn Singleton is a highly intelligent, lazy man. After a last-ditch effort to reignite his failing military career ends horribly, Vaughn becomes the only human left on Earth. Stranded alone on the International Space Station, Commander Angela Brown watches an odd wave of light sweep across the planet.

Earthcore

EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources, and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure. But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.

The Spaceship Next Door

When a spaceship landed in an open field in the quiet mill town of Sorrow Falls, Massachusetts, everyone realized humankind was not alone in the universe. With that realization everyone freaked out for a little while. Or almost everyone. The residents of Sorrow Falls took the news pretty well. This could have been due to a certain local quality of unflappability, or it could have been that in three years the ship did exactly nothing other than sit quietly in that field, and nobody understood the full extent of this nothing the ship was doing better than the people who lived right next door.

Colony

Island One is a celestial utopia, and David Adams is its most perfect creation - a man with a brain as advanced as any computer and a body free of human frailties. But David is a prisoner - a captive of the colony that created him - destined to spend the days of his life in an island-sized cylinder that circles a doomed and desperate home planet. Thousands of miles below him, a world trembles; its people cringe in terror and despair in anticipation of an impending apocalypse. And fate has cast one extraordinary human in the role of savior.

A Learning Experience, Book 1

When a bunch of interstellar scavengers approach Earth intending to abduct a few dozen humans and sell them into slavery in the darkest, they make the mistake of picking on Steve Stuart and his friends, ex-military veterans all. Unprepared for humans who can actually fight, unaware of the true capabilities of their stolen starships, the scavengers rapidly lose control of the ship - and their lives.

Lunar Discovery: Discovery Series, Book 1

What lies on the dark side of the moon could change the course of humanity forever. When a Chinese rover discovers an alien technology on the dark side of the moon, it is up to Richard "Rock" Crandon and his NASA team of scientists and engineers to devise a way to return before the Chinese and Russians. Forced to deal with bureaucratic oversight and a complex team of personalities, Rock Crandon pushes his team to their limits.

The Collapsing Empire: The Interdependency, Book 1

Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.

Battle Cruiser: Lost Colonies, Book 1

One starship will either save Earth or destroy her. A century ago our star erupted, destroying Earth's wormhole network and closing off trade with her colonized planets. After being out of contact with the younger worlds for so many years, humanity is shocked when a huge ship appears at the edge of the solar system. Our outdated navy investigates, both curious and fearful. What they learn from the massive vessel shocks the planet.

Not Alone

When Dan McCarthy stumbles upon a folder containing evidence of the conspiracy to end all conspiracies - a top-level alien cover-up - he leaks the files without a second thought. The incredible truth revealed by Dan's leak immediately captures the public's imagination, but Dan's relentless commitment to exposing the cover-up and forcing disclosure quickly earns him some enemies in high places.

Starfire

On June 30, 1908, an object fell from the sky, releasing more energy than a thousand Hiroshima bombs. A Siberian forest was flattened, but the strike left no significant crater. The anomaly came to be known as the Tunguska Event, and scientists have never agreed whether it was the largest meteor strike in recorded history - or something else. Alien artifacts have been uncovered since the 1908 event, and a new star drive is discovered.

The Kasari Nexus: Rho Agenda Assimilation, Book 1

Jennifer Smythe escapes Earth's invasion by the insidious Kasari race, hijacks an alien starship, and survives the deadly passage through a wormhole. But escape is short-lived.... When Jennifer emerges on the new world of Scion, she is confronted by the same deadly enemy. Now the Kasari have sided with the planet's angel-like elite against the warrior underclass, but with the intent of ultimately ruling both.

The Best of Bova, Volume 1

Here are tales of star-faring adventure, peril, and drama. Here are journeys into the mind-bending landscapes of virtual worlds and alternate realities. Here you'll also find stories of humanity's astounding future on Earth, on Mars, and in the solar system beyond - stories that always get the science right. And Bova's gathering of deeply realized, totally human characters are the heroic, brave, tricky, sometimes dastardly engineers, astronauts, corporate magnates, politicians, and scientists who will make these futures possible.

The Ember War: Publisher's Pack, Books 1-2

The Ember War, book 1: The Earth is doomed. Humanity has a chance. In the near future, an alien probe arrives on Earth with a pivotal mission: to determine if humanity has what it takes to survive the impending invasion by a merciless armada. The probe discovers Marc Ibarra, a young inventor who holds the key to a daring gambit that could save a fraction of Earth's population. Humanity's only chance lies with Ibarra's ability to keep a terrible secret and engineer the planet down the narrow path to survival.

Warship: Black Fleet Trilogy, Book 1

In the 25th century, humans have conquered space. The advent of faster-than-light travel has opened up hundreds of habitable planets for colonization, and humans have exploited the virtually limitless space and resources for hundreds of years with impunity. So complacent have they become with the overabundance that armed conflict is a thing of the past, and their machines of war are obsolete and decrepit. What would happen if they were suddenly threatened by a terrifying new enemy?

Publisher's Summary

Grant Archer merely wanted to study astrophysics, to work quietly as an astronomer on the far side of the Moon. But the forces of the "New Morality", the coalition of censorious do-gooders who run 21st-century America, have other plans for him. To his distress, Grant is torn from his young bride and sent to a research station in orbit around Jupiter, charged with the task of spying on the scientists who work there. What they don't know is that his loyalty to science may be greater than his loyalty to "The New Morality". But that loyalty will be tested in a mission as dangerous as any ever undertaken.

What the Critics Say

"Solid action and wonder with credible alien life forms and inspired technology....Jupiter is a new favorite destination for sci-fi exploration, and Bova's take on the planet is unique and enticing." (Publishers Weekly) "Noble and Warren's pace helps create a roller coaster of suspense and clear distinction amongst varying dialects....Easy-to-follow and entertaining deliveries." (AudioFile)

I really enjoyed this book, great SF, i.e. the science is credible, but eerily futuristic and captivating, really makes you wonder... The story line is great, Bova is just a great story teller; the story is an adventure with lots of action etc, but it is also about the inner life, struggles and journey of discovery of its main character. Finally, the character development is excellent, you really get to feel some of the struggles and emotions of the characters.

I loved this audio. Having heard all of the Voyager series I quickly became a Ben Bova fan. This audio is even better than Voyagers in my opinion. It was truly riveting in storyline, charaterizationa and suspense that glued me to my ipod until the end. I hope Grant Archer will be repeated in a sequel to this.

I have been a reader of science fiction for many years but only recently began listening to audio books. Jupiter was my first audio SiFi and I couldn't be happier with the whole experience. Bova's story is a classic SiFi with a riviting story line, good science, interesting characters, and an underlying politic theme. The great story is made even better with the wonderful oral presentation. I began listening to the story in car while traveling to work and appointments. The story was so captivating, I was soon wearing the ear buds from the car into the office and home. Then it was any lame excuse I could make...in the bathroom at times. I have just downloaded Titan and hope for more of the same. There were a few technical details I thought overlooked by Bova, like the characters could talk while submerged in a PFC liquid. The fluid would have slowed the vocal cords too much to allow speech. Also, the characters are "connected" to the ship with fiber optic lines attached to their legs. This system of connectivity would be very cumbersome and in fact was in the story. Yet the PDA-type devices apparently connected to the ship by some other wireless system not explained in detail. Obviously, a wireless system would be far more likely in this situation. But despite such little details, Bova does a wonderful job imagining the possibilities of the Jovian atmosphere and all that lies within.

Like any SF junkie, I've heard of Ben Bova for a very long time. Unfortunately I've never got around to reading/listening to his stories, till now. I picked Jupiter for one my membership books and didn't know what to expect. Well, I'm glad I picked it, because this is great SF! A captivating story and interesting ideas.

For those who didn't finish it and didn't like it, you really should've read till the end because I stayed up for 3 hours straight to finish it. For me, It got really good at the end. Although I still felt there were certain things that I felt were dropped just to make the ending a little more safe. I wish it were daring, and maybe it's just that it led me down this path thinking something were going to happen.

It's fine though, I still enjoyed it. If you're a sucker like me for sci-fi and have a good chunk of free time, I would recommend it.

The Ben Bova's Grand Tour is real fun and approaches hard science fiction at times but remains a set of GREAT adventure stories first and foremost. Jupiter is an interesting view of the society that is in the books. This time it is from the view of a "believer" not the semi-atheists the other books tend to focus on. A real fun romp below the atmospheric oceans and a great "first contact" story.

I was not particularly fond of Bova's earlier short works, I think I got interested in his (paper) books about the time the Rock Rat series came out, but I took a chance on Jupiter (audio) due to the reviews, and got HOOKED. I found myself in the truck going places I didn't really need to go just to listen to it, and then found myself walking around with my MP3 player in my pocket.

It Lead me on to "Titan", (I JUST finished it) which is also an excellent book, and I am hoping Bova will continue the series.

I was going to "back up a bit" and get "Saturn", but the reviews don't look too good for it, So I may back up further and get the first three Rock Rat Books in Audio.. I've become an audio junkie ;)

Some of the interpersonal issues ( which Bova seems to take special pride in ) can detract from the core story, but are tolerable. On the flip side, the internal dialogues of the Leviathans are fascinating, esp. given the reading by the inimitable David Warner.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Jupiter?

As in most of Bova's stories, they kind of flow ( versus have high points/low points ) so looking for a specific moment may not be helpful. That said, I did like the "resolution" per se.

Which character – as performed by Christian Noble and David Warner – was your favorite?

The Leviathans by Mr. Warner are highly compelling.

Could you see Jupiter being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Gosh, I am not a casting agent. A big story to be told , that is for sure.

Any additional comments?

The Solar System series continues to fascinate and grow on me. This one is notable in that it is not narrated by Stefan R. and so we have a fresh view on Bova's storytelling. On balance this is a very entertaining audio performance, is a good stand alone story ( as opposed to be a continuance of previous stories ) and is well worth the credit for fans of this series, and for any true speculative fiction fans.

Yes, and I have. Though I could do without the terriable intro by Halin Ellison! I get the feeling Ben Bova is friends with Harlin, the way George Lucas is friends with Steve Spielberg; some what temparate, to say the least. And I resent the fact that the "Goyim" cant tell jokes, there are hundreds of non Jews who are very funny! Aside from that, this is a great story, and one of Bova's best.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ohara, she was spunky!

Have you listened to any of Christian Noble and David Warner ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

It started slowly and there were dragging moments BUT the whole story was entertaining and enjoyable. This recurring theme of the Christian leaders taking over the world is getting tiresome though what with Ben Bova and Allen Steele both pushing it.

This book is a good read althougth the characterisation leaves a little to be desired!
The plot is very interesting, the science seems plausible and firmly grounded in reality. There are a lot of political and religious intrigues that reflect current real life issues and certainly give one plenty to think about.
My main problem with this book is the characterisation, it seems fairly two dimensional. The reader is more or less clued in to the nature of each character from that characters first line of dialogue. Also the level of hostility between members of the scientific community on the Jupiter orbital station seems to be at such a level that it would make it virtually impossible for that station to operate in any reasonable way.

Other than my concerns over the charcterisation and interaction between some of the characters, I really enjoyed this book. In some ways it felt like classic style SF but with modern overtones and issues.

I have just bought another BOVA, so I guess it was good enough to get me to read another one.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

S. Morris

London, UK

4/24/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Liked It"

Jupiter was my fifth Ben Bova novel from his Grand Tour series and I liked it. The two moon based stories I've read, Moon Rise and Moon War didn't really impress or grab me like this story had. I think one of the reasons why Jupiter was a better read for me was the more interesting characters. There is a decent and diverse group of people in this story and it does seem that Bova is either a hit or miss author in respect of getting his characters right. The two Mars based stories I've read so far Mars and Return to mars were in a similar vein to this book in terms of a more enjoyable set of characters generally speaking.

The main protagonist, Grant Archer starts off as a green and inexperienced young scientist sent off to the research station orbiting Jupiter as part of his mandatory 4 year public service duty. Grant is introduced to the station and meets new people and makes friends along the way. The characters are written well and have distinct traits and personalities which lifts the story and pulls the reader into Grant's new world as he struggles to find his feet in his new environment.

Of course, things are not made easy for him and the station director is a stern and austere character that makes life difficult for Grant as he tries to fit in. However, Bova lets the reader gradually see and appreciate a different side to the hard edged director as the story progresses which I liked and pleased me as initially I thought this character to be a one dimensional portrayal of a tough leader.

Bova paints a picture of station life and the people in it that draws the reader into their story and allows us to tag along with Grant on his journey. I think the attribute I liked best about the Grant Archer character was that he was written as an ordinary person with apprehensions, fears and weaknesses and not one of those sorts of characters who are always self assured and know the right answer to everything. Grant is finding his way in his new world and so are we along with him as the reader.

I found the plot uncomplicated and well paced and there is a spy for the New Morality on the station and the author often misdirects us as to who this culprit might be. This brings me to perhaps one of the biggest issues I have with these Bova stories as many of them feature the "New Morality" which is a political and religious bunch of zealots that control the government and have authority over many aspects of life. I didn't like it when Earth bound politics start encroaching upon his stories and I just find the whole scene dull and a distraction from what I think of as the real science-fiction story. In addition, I find it very silly that a future enlightened world would seek to take steps backward into the middle ages with it's religious dogma and policies that stifle things like the quest for scientific knowledge as it might upset the view that God created us and that no other intelligent alien life must be found. For me, the entire New Morality sub-plot is ridiculous and out of place in a society which supposedly has moved on in its understanding of the universe. I was surprised that the New Morality didn't start issuing new dictates rewriting science by stating that the Sun moves around the Earth and the Earth itself is flat and only 4,000 years old. Anyway, Bova didn't thankfully include much from this group in the story and I believe there are other Bova stories within his Grand Tour series that heavily focus on these religious groups and this is why I have avoided those titles.

The concepts Bova puts forth in this and other Jupiter related stories is an interesting one which posits an ocean beneath the cloud layers that supports various life forms as well as life in the cloud layers itself. I can't remember if Jupiter actually has any ocean of any kind other than dense gas down to its core and if this is so I am surprised Bova took this approach as I believe he has a beat on current scientific theories and is supposed to be quite scientific in this writing of such things. I can't say but all the same I did like the vision of Jupiter he describes.

Grant and his new friends are sent down into the Jovian ocean to make contact with the leviathans that dwell in the vast deep. In order to do this each crew member has to effectively drown in the same liquid seen in the movie "The Abyss" and I wonder if Bova got this idea from that movie.

The thoughts of the leviathan are narrated by a different speaker who is excellent and has the right voice to lend awe and gravitas to the narrative of these immense creatures. A quirk I find of Bova's writing is that he seems to separate chapters in some of his books with quotes from famous people or in the case of Jupiter, psalms. I find this a little incongruous in that Bova appears to try lending weight and a sense of majesty into a story that is more of a pulp science fiction story than one where such weighty prose fit. This brings me to say that another reviewer stated that Bova's stories are not pulp science fiction and are hard science-fiction. I would have to disagree with that assessment. This is not to belittle Bova's work - not at all. But judging by the five novels so far read from Ben Bova, I would have to say that his stories are far closer to pulp or "light" science-fiction that is generally more average reader friendly than some of the other authors I've read which make Bova's novels look like 1960's Star Trek.

As ever in Bova's stories, a man cannot live amongst women without thinking of jumping into bed with them and I find this a basic flaw in Bova's style and hence my liking many elements of his stories to classic Trek.

Overall though, I enjoyed Jupiter and the conclusion of the story left me wanting more. I subsequently found the follow-up story set some 20 years later called "Leviathans of Jupiter" which I've just read and will review soon.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Just

UK

3/23/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Superb. "

If you could sum up Jupiter in three words, what would they be?

No I can't.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Leviathan. Cool dude.

What does Christian Noble and David Warner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

They make me hear it, not read it.

Any additional comments?

This story is one of the best in the series. Total imagination, yet presented in a very believable way.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Steven

Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom

6/6/06

Overall

"Breaking Out"

This is a story about someone caught up in the convention and regulation of life who breaks free from the restrictions to performing original, ground breaking work. He is helped by a mentor who appears aggressive at the beginning. However, as time goes by he understands his mentor who isn't aggresive but more determined, even single minded at times, and shows him how to achieve a breakthrough in the understand of life, even though this goes against the convention and restrictions of the 'world' in which they live. As the title suggests, the story is based near the planet Jupiter. It is a good science fiction story, but also has this element of challenging the rules and regulations 'for the benefit of all.' I wont say any more about the detail of the story as I might spoil it for you. However, I thoroughly recommend this book.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

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